Counties-first election bill could restore foundation of Wyoming Constitution

Using county lines to create House districts of multiple candidates would make ballots sensible while amping up voters’ voices.

CHEYENNE – In Wyoming, a historic electoral reform has attracted unprecedented support from across the political spectrum. The bill, Senate File 114, is based on the state’s history of using counties as multi-member districts, which had been struck down by federal courts in 1992. 

The state is now moving to revive that system while solving the “one person, one vote” issues that had caused the old county-based system to be struck down. 

Under the proposal, the state House would be elected from districts following county lines, ending convoluted and arbitrary gerrymandering for single-member districts. The number of seats per district would be allocated by population, and the representatives elected from each district would then be apportioned according to each party’s vote totals in the general election. Building on work by election-law expert Andy Craig, the “whole counties” districting plan advanced through first reading in the state Senate on a vote of 27 to 4. The Senate’s Corporations, Elections, and Political Subdivisions committee then held a hearing on the proposal, where it was unanimously agreed to send the idea to further study during the interim committee hearings that are held between legislative sessions. This is the first time in the American west that a state legislative chamber has, on a recorded vote, moved forward with a plan for an electoral system where the results are proportional to each party’s vote share. 

“Politics should be downstream of culture, and in Wyoming, counties play an outsized role in that culture. This legislation would give voters an equal voice while restoring the role of counties as Wyoming’s constitution requires,” said Lars Mapstead, founder of Voting Rights Foundation, a former presidential candidate and entrepreneur. 

Mapstead noted testimony from county clerks, who saw potential for elections that would be easier to administer. They would need fewer ballots if everyone in the county had the same choices for the Wyoming House, which would cut costs for elections. 

“Wyoming could lead the nation with better elections through proportional representation, just as Wyoming led the nation by being the first state to give women the right to vote.”

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Voting Rights Foundation is a nonprofit that works to create a free market in American politics. VRF researches, educates, and mobilizes around changes to our electoral system to ensure better candidates, better policies, and better outcomes.